Watch: Here's why Vinod Khanna left it all to join OSHO

By Vinayak Hegde | First Published Apr 27, 2017, 10:27 AM IST

Veteran actor Vinod Khanna passed away from bladder cancer 
At the peak of his career, he took a five-year hiatus as an OSHO disciple 
So why did he leave it all? What drove him to make such a choice? 

In 1982, Vinod Khanna was literally at the pinnacle of his career. Films like 'The Burning Train' and 'Qurbani' had just released, and become blockbusters. He seemed set on a path that was eventually expected to take him to where Amitabh Bachchan is today - a living legend.

But life and Vinod Khanna had very different plans. Back in the 1970s, Khanna met and then began to follow the spiritual guru Rajnish, also known as OSHO. His meeting with OSHO was not surprising since at the time the guru was all the rage in Bollywood.

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However, Khanna seems to have honestly found some special connection. He used to frequent the OSHO ashram in Pune regularly for years and took to routinely wear the orange robes that identified him as a disciple of the guru. Which is all well and fine, until 1982, when OSHO shifted to Oregon, US and invited Khanna to join him there.

Khanna, to the shock of everyone, agreed. He held a press conference with his then-wife Geetanjali and announced his decision to leave the country, at the peak of his stardom. As it turned out, he would be gone for five long years, only returning in 1986.

Things never went back to normal for Khanna however. The industry had moved on, and though he got many a role, he never returned to his former heights. So why did he do it? Though he has never hidden his reasons, perhaps they were best articulated in a dignified interview with Simi Gerewal, in her show Rendezvous with Simi Garewal.

Have a listen:

Well, whatever his mind told him, one hopes he found the peace he was looking for at the time.

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